Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Nats - Acquired Willingham and Olsen

Washington Nationals - Acquired LF Josh Willingham and P Scott Olsen

Emilio Bonifacio, P P.J. Dean, and 2B-OF Jake Smolinski

A very nice pickup for the Nationals. Willingham is no star and is a poor bet to age well long-term, but he’s a good, average bat for a team that couldn’t find any, as practically every National but Cristian Guzman underperformed offensively this season. Perhaps Guzman still played well because he’s a see ball-hit ball player that Lenny Harris couldn’t screw up? Olsen’s been disappointing and a general pain in the ass, but he’s also just going to be 25 for 2009.

The Nats don’t give up too much. Bonifacio is unlikely to hit enough to ever be a starter. Dean’s very young and has a solid fastball/curve/change, but he’s yet to pitch in a full-season league and a lot of guys like that fall off the radar as they move to the higher-A leagues. Smolinski is generally athletic and has a strong arm, but he’s injured a lot, doesn’t really have a defensive position he really excels at, and has displayed very little power so far. Dean in particular could come back to the haunt the Nats, but the odds are against it.

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Perhaps Guzman still played well because he's a see ball-hit ball player that Lenny Harris couldn't screw up?

I understand why career pinch-hitters like Lenny Harris get hitting coach jobs - but it would seem that such career paths don't usually turn out well. I'm thinking of Richie Hebner and Greg Gross among others.

I would think that the fundamental approach of a pinch-hitter - perhaps a role where a hacker of the Harris/Hebner/Gross type actually does make sense - wouldn't be well-suited to lineup and roster as a whole.